Glicerina bruta na dieta de caprinos confinados: características de carcaça e de perna

Abstract

Goat farming is a widespread activity in the Brazilian semi-arid region. The goat has great adaptation to the climate of this region, which suffers with irregularity in the rains, damaging the production of forage resources. The practice of confinement is an option of the producer to minimize food shortages, implying higher food costs. With increasing supply, crude glycerin (GB) becomes an alternative ingredient in the diet formulation of these animals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the carcass and leg characteristics of goats confined when fed with different levels of crude glycerin (0, 6, 12 and 18%) in the diet. A total of 40 goats were used, with no defined racial pattern, with a mean initial weight of 19.52 ± 2.35 kg, divided into four treatments with 10 replicates, using a completely randomized design. In 58 days of evaluation, the consumption and leftovers of these animals were recorded daily, and food samples and leftovers were collected for bromatological analysis to determine dry matter intake (DMI). At the end of the experimental period, slaughtering was carried out to determine the carcass and leg characteristics of the animals. The content of the gastrointestinal tract increased according to higher levels of GB. The empty body weights; hot and cold carcass weight and their yield; the loin eye areas; and the weights of the reconstituted leg and respective muscles and bones, decreased linearly. The inclusion of GB with low glycerol (63.06%) in up to 18% in DM in the goat diet compromises the main characteristics of the carcass and leg of the animals.